"Coco Gauff needed it today" - Tim Henman explains why American beat Madison Keys despite 'painful' French Open outing

Coco Gauff scored a stunning win over her rival Madison Keys to stamp her place in the semifinals of the French Open for a second consecutive year. Though she lost the first set narrowly, the 21-year-old turned things around in stunning fashion to win (6)6-7, 6-4, 6-1 after two hours and 11 minutes.

Interestingly, both women, who have been enjoying a stunning season, weren't playing their finest tennis in the quarterfinals and hit a combined total of 101 unforced errors, 60 from Keys and 41 from Gauff. Despite the struggles, it was Gauff who prevailed using her tenacity.

While discussing her win, former World No. 4 Tim Henman lauded the American's resilience, highlighting how she had the ability to shift her focus to the next point despite losing a bad point.

"It's her resilience. I watched the match, and there were times where it just looked painful out on court for Coco because the second serve is unreliable, and she serves some bad double faults, she shanks some forehands, but her ability just to park it and move on to the next point." (0:31 onwards)

Henman felt that Coco Gauff needed this win and again praised her ability to come back from a set down and put the match to bed.

"Her resilience at such a young age, I think, is so impressive, and she needed it today because she didn't get off to a good start; she managed to battle her way back into the first set. But even though she lost it, she was never going to go away, and the way she fought through the second was hugely impressive, and ran away with the third."

Henman was also joined by Mats Wilander, who also heavily praised the young American.

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"Coco Gauff seemed very business-like, and that's what I like about her" - Mats Wilander

Coco Gauff - Source: Getty

During the same discussion, seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander also commended Coco Gauff's fighting spirit and her business-like approach towards her matches despite her young age. He also touched upon her ability to rectify her errors quickly during a match.

"She seemed very business-like, and that's what I like about her. She's businesslike when she's playing. She should've won that first set, and she didn't, and she didn't let it bother her at all, and then she played brilliantly in the third set."

"So, the fighting spirit is just brilliant for somebody that young, and the understanding of the game. The understanding of her weaknesses as well, when she loses her second serve, she starts making first serves. When she misses a few forehands, she hits them a little bit higher with more spin."

Coco Gauff will face Lois Boisson in the semifinals of the French Open. The winner of their match will face the winner of Aryna Sabalenka vs Iga Swiatek in the final.